Comments on: Why I Decided Not To Buy A House

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:16:36 +0000

Looking back at some of the comments from a year ago is hilarious:

#14 “Foreclosures are incredibly rare” (The foreclosure rate is now at an all-time high nationally)

#7 “I would NEVER advise against home ownership” (So, you would have bought a house for $750K in San Francisco that’s now worth less than $500K)

I am a former homeowner who has just sold his house (bought 4 years ago) for a 40% gain. I got out becuase I see 1 out of every 10 homes in my area for sale. I got a good offer and have gone back to renting. They say that your house is your best investment, and this CAN be true. However, you have to judge the market, and not step blindly into something just because people say it’s what you should do. There are benefits to renting, such as low maintenance, and the security that you are not sitting on a depreciating asset.

I will look to get back into a house in a year or two when inventory levels have subsided, and the selling panic is over.

Supply and Demand!

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:33:28 +0000

I bought a house for 160K in Austin, TX. I also bought a car for 70K. Buying the car took about a half an hour and the house took 2 months with all the BS that goes with it. At the end of the day, I can sell the car today in about 30 minutes and seel the house in about 6 months with all the BS. My question is…why is dealing with property such a pain in the butt? To me, its almost not worth it. I would rather rent and not deal with the hassel of repairs. Tax write-offs? Big deal. Pride of ownership? Big deal. The government can take your land/house with “imminent domain” anyway. I have come to the coonclusion that being a ‘homeowner’ is a scam that only puts money into the pockets of banks and we all know how banks run this country.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:38:11 +0000

I lived in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago when everything was very very expensive. I had no savings so my mother suggested that she would be a co-owner and help me buy a townhouse (she lives in another state). Do I regret buying a home there? YES! First, who wants to be trapped in home ownership with your mother? I got really tired of calling her about home repairs such as a $1,500 new air conditioner, $2,000 new roof and $2,000 new siding. Homes are money pits. And then after a few years I got married and we decided to move to the midwest. Guess what? Noone wanted to buy the house - even after all of the improvements were made. It took 6 months to get rid of the damn place. Did I make a little bit of money? Yes. Was it worth it? No. Now we are happily renting a mini-mansion in the midwest for much less than owning. Freedom to move whenever you want, freedom to put your money towards other things besides a huge mortgage & home repairs/renovations, freedom to live in a large beautiful home without being house poor…we love it.

By: Money Walks - Personal Finance » Update and Articles

Money Walks - Personal Finance » Update and Articles — Wed, 02 May 2007 03:35:15 +0000

[…] explains why she Decided Not to Buy a House. Owning a home is definitely something that is looked upon as a great life accomplishment and a […]

By: Gail

Gail — Tue, 01 May 2007 05:34:15 +0000

Amy, You seem to have thought out your reasons for not buying a home and if that makes you happy, go for it. I bought a home almost 6 years ago for $60,000. We are hoping to sell it this summer and move into a home my hubby has been building as he has had time (started it 10 years ago, five years before he met me). We HOPE to sell it for $75,000. So it truly depends on your location, the home and a lot of variables. What I didn’t count on when buying this home in my mid-40’s was getting married again and coming down with severe arthritis, that makes upkeep of the huge yard, etc. almost impossible. There are a lot of pluses and minuses to home ownership. If you are track with saving for retiremnet and those unexpected things like job lay-offs, illness etc. then you are in good shape without a house investment. For some people it is the only way to get them to save.

By: C

Tue, 01 May 2007 02:05:21 +0000

(rats, sorry about the double post)

Don’t ever let anyone talk you into buying a house because “no one ever lost money on it.”

Whoever said no one mentions the fees, maintenance, interest, etc. when calculating their profits is right.

I bought a house 1.5 yrs ago. I knew what I was getting into. I’m not streteched, I put 20% down. I don’t regret it, but you know what? I wouldn’t do it again. I could save more money renting.

There are benefits to having a home, being able to do what you want, having fairly fixed costs (if you don’t have an ARM), but I don’t think it’s a guaranteed jackpot. In fact, I find it hard to see how I’ll make any money once you take into account all the fees, interest, taxes and extra expenses that come with home ownership. Not to mention my time taking care of the yard, etc.

Bottom line: don’t buy a house because you think it’s your ticket to riches; it probably isn’t. If you want your to stay put for awhile and like being able to do your own thing, then fine.

By: C

Tue, 01 May 2007 01:56:54 +0000

Don’t ever let anyone talk you into buying a house because “no one ever lost money on it.”

By: plonkee

plonkee — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:48:42 +0000

Many people commenting seem to be saying that because in the last few years, they have made a lot of money through buying and selling homes, that means that everyone else should do it to. This is wrong because, no one financial decision can possible suit everyone all the time.

If it suits you to buy, then do so but don’t knock those of us for whom renting is the better option.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:50:56 +0000

When I look at what the average-Joe Californian has to pay for a house that most definitely looks no fancier than mine, I’m just glad living in Ohio suits me fine. Okay, you guys have better scenery (I guess) but you can sure keep those payments.

By: Carol

Carol — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:51:22 +0000

We’ve owned three houses or condos over the past 20 years. We didn’t make any money on any of them (held them for 5 years, 6 years, and 18 months respectively). If you are willing to stay in the same house for 10-20 years and want to take up home improvement as a hobby, then home ownership is great. Oh, and selling a house will cost you a 6% real estate commission (along with other costs), so you can lose even if the price goes up. My experience is that home ownership is inflexible and time-consuming. We rent now, and with the ridiculous house prices where we live now (England), it’s actually much cheaper to rent. We put the extra money we would pay if we owned into the bank. It really does depend on your situation and preferences. The most important financial decision you need to make is to spend less than you earn.